


Babysitting

by orangebarmy



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003)
Genre: Babysitting, Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Ratings: G, TMNT, Uncle-Niece Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-20
Updated: 2015-09-20
Packaged: 2018-04-22 14:11:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4838162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orangebarmy/pseuds/orangebarmy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT <br/>Summary: The turtles babysit baby Shadow Jones<br/>Rating: G<br/>Note: For SadoraNortica</p>
            </blockquote>





	Babysitting

April worried at her lower lip as she looked between the six males who stood before her. She never expected to feel this nervous or unsure about something which was seemingly so simple, but her heart was thumping within her chest.

“Babe?” Casey spoke softly.

“Don’t call me that!” she snapped habitually.

The raven haired male smiled knowing that he at least had her attention. Taking a step forward he took her hand and raised it to his lips to kiss the back of it. She flushed a little at the obviously romantic gesture which Casey occasionally pulled out.

“She will be fine,” he spoke again.

April’s green eyes flicked down to the baby seat where her five month old daughter slept easily. She had never expected to feel such love for the baby, but as soon as the nurse handed the small baby into her arms she had felt such a wave of love. She might not have given birth to the little girl or even shared DNA with her, but she was her mother without a doubt.

Now she didn’t want her daughter out of sight despite the fact she knew both she and Casey were desperate for some adult time alone. She continued to worry at her lip still so unsure about which feelings were pulling her the most.

“April, she will be in the care of five ninja masters who will fight tooth and nail to protect her. Hell they keep the lair more clean than how clean I keep our apartment!” Casey continued.

The red headed woman snorted at that knowing it was true. She lifted her eyes and looked at the five mutants who were stood before her. They could all see the nervousness on her face, so Donatello stepped forward and took her other hand.

“April, Shadow will be absolutely fine with us, we are ninja’s and Master Splinter has trained us to be prepared for any situation, there is nothing that can come up that we can’t deal with,” the olive green turtle reassured.

The frown lines eased from April’s face a little.

“April my child, your daughter my grandchild will be the safest I can make her. Go with your husband enjoy some alone time,” Splinter added standing next to the baby seat.

The young mother let out a deep long sigh and gripped Casey’s hand tightly.

“Okay let’s get out of here before I change my mind,” she spoke up quickly turning towards the elevator.

Casey grinned and quickly followed.

“See you later guys, look after my baby girl,” he spoke up as the doors closed.

The five ninja’s looked at each other as the doors finally closed leaving them alone with the sleeping babe.

“So what do we do now?” Mikey asked rubbing his hand over his head.

“Now it is time for your training. Shadow shall sit by me while you train,” Splinter explained picking up the seat and carrying it to the dojo.

Mikey groaned at that, but followed his father and brothers into dojo. Master Splinter settled himself on a cushion with Shadow’s seat beside him and directed his sons through their kata’s and training. 

The four mutated turtles were sweating by the time the hour’s training was finished but Shadow remained asleep. Standing Master Splinter didn’t pick up the seat but turned his attentions to his sons.

“I am going to meditate my sons, I am sure between the four of you, you will be able to care for Shadow’s needs,” he stated simply. 

“Hai Sensei,” the four answered.

The ninja master nodded his head and left his sons to care for their niece. Raph wiped his face and strode over to the seat staring down at the small baby. 

“How can something so small demand so much attention?” he asked poking his finger lightly at her leg.

Shadow twitched but didn’t awake, completely oblivious to the scrutiny.

“Don’t wake her, if we can keep her asleep as long as possible it will make things easier for us,” Leo explained.

“Awww but I wanted to play with her,” Mikey protested.

Donnie chuckled, “While she is growing and learning, she still is quite young Mikey. She won’t be up for more robust play for a little while yet.”

Mikey pouted but bounced up to her seat and carried her through to the main living area. 

“I’m gonna play some games, anyone wanna join?” he called back. 

“Sure I will,” Raph agreed.

Leo shook his head, “Meditation for me Mikey.”

“Mechanics for me,” Donnie answered.

Mikey shrugged and plopped down on the sofa with Raph and Shadow’s seat between them so they could see her if she needed anything. The sound system blared to life and for about fifteen minutes the two brightly banded turtle’s played easily without interruption. Shadow’s snuffling and beginning to twist in her seat finally drew their attention away from their battle.

“What does that face mean?” Mikey asked pausing the game to look more intently at the twisting babe.

Shadow was pulling her legs up towards her body, her little features were scrunching up and her face turning red.

“I think that means something smelly,” Raph stated.

Mikey made an “oh” sound and tilted his head to the side. Letting out a loud sound which had both ninja turtles smirking, Shadow’s eyes opened and her face scrunched up hard. Her mouth opened and her wail of distress began to fill the lair.

“Hey, hey little dudette,” Mikey soothed unbuckling the straps of her seat.

Reaching under her back and bum he lifted her out and brought her close to his plastron. Almost immediately he moved her back scrunching up his own beak. 

“Dude she smells even worse than you!” he protested to Raph.

“Well change her then, you picked her up,” Raph argued back.

Mikey continued to wrinkle his beak while Shadow’s wails filled the lair. The dojo door opened and Leo came out at the same time Don’s lab door opened to show the olive green turtle.

“Its fine, she just needs changed,” Mikey spoke up.

“Do you know what you are doing?” Donnie asked.

Mikey shot his brothers a grin over his shoulder, “Can be that hard dude!”

Raph snorted and looked at Leo, “Famous last words.”

Mikey snagged Shadow’s bag from the side of the sofa and opened it up to get the changing mat. He flicked it open and spread it out on the sofa, gently laying the five month old on it. Her legs kicked out and arms flailed with tightly clenched fists. 

Frowning Mikey looked down at her romper suit and figured how to get the fastener’s undone. Easing her legs out of the suit Mikey pulled it up her body to reveal her diaper. 

“Um what do I need next?” he muttered to himself. “Clean diaper, wipes and something to put the nastiness in.”

Leo and Raph smirked at Mikey while Donnie looked over the sofa in curiosity. He’d seen April and Casey care for their daughter but the turtles hadn’t really done much with her. With the supplies by his side, Mikey looked for the tabs and pulled them free. Opening the diaper Mikey let out a splutter of disgust. 

“How can something so small produce something that bad?” Mikey protested leaning away from the smell.

“You should be grateful you didn’t change the first couple, apparently they are like tar,” Donnie added.

Mikey continued to grimace as he used the wipes to clean the baby. He managed to get the diaper into the small bag. Just as he turned to get the fresh diaper, he felt something warm and wet on his leg. Looking down he realised that Shadow had wee’d on him. 

“Awwww come on dudette that is just wrong,” he complained.

Leo, Raph and Donnie all laughed at that, as Shadow cooed and kicked her legs freely, now happy that she was clean. Mikey muttered under his breath as he quickly cleaned himself up before he tried to figure out the right way to put the diaper on.

“I think you have it upside down Mikey.”

“Now it’s back to front.”

“Are the tabs meant to be at the back?”

Mikey grumbled at his brothers supposed attempts to aid him. Finally he had the diaper on Shadow and he tickled her belly. Letting out little breathy laughs Shadow enjoyed the attention, squirming and attempting to grab at Mikey’s wriggling fingers.

“Who is going to watch her while I get rid of the smelliness?” Mikey asked.

“Come here Shadow, come to Uncle Donnie,” the olive green turtle stated.

Reaching over the sofa Donnie plucked the five month old babe. Shadow’s arms immediately went out to clutch at the turtle, smiling widely as he came into view. She blew out a raspberry, laughing at the sound she made.

Mikey picked up the bag and disappeared into the kitchen to dispose of the smell diaper in the bin. He came out to find Donatello making faces at Shadow who was staring intently at his features. Leo and Raph continued to stand by the side seemingly unsure what to do.

“Come on dudes she needs somewhere to play, April put loads of toys in the bag,” Mikey reprimanded his older siblings.

“The dojo is probably the safest place, the mats will be softer for her if she tips over,” Leo added.

Mikey grabbed the bag and headed into the dojo with the others following. Raph had the sense to grab some pillows to put around the baby to help support her. Donnie continued to coo at her making silly noises to help make Shadow laugh.

“You do realise you look like a moron don’t you?” Raph stated.

“It helps with her development, it helps her to recognise different facial expressions,” Donnie answered not stopping what he is doing.

Arranging the cushions, the boys created a semi-circle and Donnie somewhat reluctantly placed the baby down on the mat. He moved her legs a little so that she was sat with her legs in a “v”. She leaned forward a little and immediately tried to reach for the toys which Mikey was placing within her reach.

Making noise and blowing raspberries Shadow brought the toys to her mouth and immediately began to chew on them. Drool dribbled down her chin and she laughed as the four turtles began to play with her.

Leaning forward a little too far to reach for a toy just out of her grasp, Shadow toppled forward before anyone could stop her. She landed face first onto the dojo mats, and the boys reacted quickly to sit her back up. Shadow’s lips quivered and she began to cry, tears immediately dripping from her eyes.

“Aww little girl you are okay? Right Donnie she is okay?” Mikey began to soothe.

Donnie reached forward and gently felt over her nose and mouth, “She is fine Mikey, I think she just gave herself a fright. We need to distract her, come on you two help out.”

Raph and Leo seemed a little unsure what to do, so Leo grabbed a toy and began to bob it around the floor in front of Shadow. The baby looked down at the toy and for a second it looked like she was going to stop crying. Then the most pathetic cry any of the turtles had ever heard issued from the baby.

The four boys looked at each other, all of them a little unsure about what to do. Reaching forward Donnie picked her up and cuddled her to his plastron. He rocked her back and forth while making shushing noises. However Shadow would not be comforted and continued to cry.

“Maybe she’s hungry, you know how Mikey gets when he is hungry, and maybe she is the same?” Raph suggested.

“It is worth a try,” Donnie shrugged his shoulders and got to his feet.

The three other turtles followed and Mikey stepped forward to rummage through the bag.

“We have milk or we have milk, which would you prefer baby?” Mikey sniggered holding up the bottles.

Leo took one of the bottles and headed to the kitchen to warm it up, while Donnie continued to rock Shadow in his arms. The doors of Master Splinter’s room opened and he observed his sons.

“She is just hungry,” Donnie explained.

Splinter nodded his head and disappeared back into his room.

“One bottle room temperature,” Leo announced holding out the bottle.

Shuffling Shadow in his arms until she was lying properly, he took the bottle and teased her mouth with the teat. For a moment the tears ceased and her ruby lips closed around the bottle. But it was only a momentary respite, as she didn’t even suckle before spitting it back out and starting to cry again. 

“Do you think it is the wrong temperature?” Leo seemed puzzled.

“I don’t know,” Donnie replied just as confused as his brothers.

Juggling her in his arms nothing he did seemed to ease the poor baby’s suffering, whose cries had now taken on a pained and distressed tone. 

“Any ideas?” the genius asked.

Mikey pursed his lips together while Raph crossed his arms over his plastron. Leo shrugged his shoulders and gave a little smile to the olive green turtle.

“Masters of ninjitsu brought down by a five month old baby,” the leader saw the funny side of things.

Raph and Mikey snorted out their laughter, but Shadow chose that moment to really start to cry. Her whole body shuddered and shook and her face turned bright red, fat tears sneaking out from under her clenched lids. The pitch and intensity of her cries increased taking on a truly distressed and pained timbre.

Mikey’s face scrunched up not liking the fact that the young babe was so upset. Raph grumbled under his breath and shifted uncomfortably from side to side not sure what to do with himself.

“Maybe she wants to you know be in a different position?” Mikey suggested.

Donnie half smiled and tried to change positions all the while shushing and bobbing from side to side. No matter what though Shadow would not be comforted. Her clenched fists tucked into her body while her little legs flexed and clenched repeatedly.

“What do we do?” Mikey asked sounding distressed too.

“I don’t know,” Donnie admitted finding it hard to do so.

Four pairs of eyes met all the while Shadow’s pained cry echoed around the lair. The mutated turtles were at a complete loss as to what to do. Not knowing what to do made them all feel uncomfortable and knowing that the young babe couldn’t tell them what was wrong just added to it all.

The doors of Master Splinter’s bedroom opened once more after a further ten minutes of crying filled the lair, and he walked towards the group. Shaking his head he appraised the upset child in Donatello’s arms before moving over to one of the chairs and sitting down. Resting his walking stick by his side he held out his hands for the baby.

The olive green turtle moved forward quickly and handed over Shadow. Master Splinter’s hands quickly moved over her small form feeling how tight and tensed her abdomen was. Chuckling at what seemed to be the simple reason for her distress, he began to set things right.

His fingers began to kneed at her tensed stomach, muttering words of encouragement as he did so. After a few moments he stopped the massage and held her in the sitting position as he began to rock her gently back and forth.

“What is wrong with her Master Splinter?” Donnie asked, fascinated at the ease in which his father was doing things. 

“She has wind,” the mutated rat stated simply.

Raph snorted, “She needs to fart and that’s making her act like this?”

Black eyes landed on the emerald green turtle and Splinter shot his son a reprimanding look.

“For a baby Raphael, wind can be highly distressing. They find it difficult to pass and when it collects in their gut, it can cause muscular spasms which she cannot express except through crying,” Splinter explained.

Stopping the rocking back and forth, Splinter soothed his hand repeatedly down her back. Her cries were still echoed around the lair, but with Master Splinter seeming so sure the turtles found themselves relaxing. 

Splinter settled into a pattern of massaging her stomach, rocking her gently back and forth, and then rubbing her back. It took a little while but after a few minutes, Splinter felt the rattle of wind and Shadow grunted out her cries. Her legs scrunched up and everyone laughed as more wind sounded forth.

Splinter praised the small babe and moved her to his shoulder, patting her back as he did so.

“How come you praise her when she lets rip but we get told we are gross?” Mikey protested. 

“The difference being numbskull is that she is five months’ old and doesn’t know the difference and you are a mutant turtle who stinks to high heaven,” Raph snorted out. 

Shadow’s cries were beginning to taper off as Splinter began to hum softly as he rocked her. She snuggled into his robe and fur, curling into a tight bundle as she did so. 

“How did you do that?” Mikey sounded awed as he watched the babe starting to drift off.

“Mikey he raised us four, I’m sure we were much harder to deal with then Shadow is,” Donnie answered on behalf of his father.

The sea green turtle seemed content with that answer and lounged back in the chair watching his father get comfortable holding the now sleeping baby. 

“So Master Splinter, who was the hardest to deal with when we were little?” Donatello asked ever curious.

Splinter smiled at that relaxing thoroughly.

“Well you all had times when you were the most difficult. However I do recall this one particular incident with Leonardo . . .” Splinter began to regale them.

All four boys sat listening intently as their father began to regale them with stories of their childhood and the skills he learnt. It was how Casey and April found them when they returned from their evening out, and they quickly joined in. Seeing her baby so relaxed in Splinter’s arms had April relaxing and feeling surer about leaving her child with them. 

April might have been unsure about the four turtles being capable enough to care for Shadow given their inexperience, but hearing some of Splinter’s stories she was absolutely sure Shadow would always be safe there.

END


End file.
